10 Must-See Talks at Brooklyn’s Photoville Festival This Weekend and Next

In its sophomore year, the Photoville festival is making its mark. Exhibited in shipping containers at Pier 5 in Brooklyn Bridge Park, its aim is to attract as many curious tourists and non-photo people as it is to congregate photography enthusiasts. Co-founder and creative director Sam Barzilay has described his team's efforts as those to "create a feel of a country fair … but for photography." As such, Photoville is free.

But what really distinguishes this year's Photoville from the last is the expanded rich program of talks and panels. If you wanted to hear a comparable selection of photographers, curators, editors and thinkers elsewhere you'd have to drop a pretty penny on a conference which, let's face it, can sometimes be a bit stiff.

Many Raw File favorites will be taking the stage over the next two weekends, so here's our recommendations. In order of appearance.

(All talks mentioned take place at the Photoville Talk Area – located at the storefront of One Brooklyn Bridge Park at 360 Furman St Brooklyn, NY.)

Let's get this out of the way. We've got a dog in the fight. Following the interest in Raw File's conversation with Marvin Heiferman, writer Pete Brook was invited to continue the dialogue in meatspace. Marvin and Pete both believe that photographs are not exactly what we think and that they effect our lives in ways of which we're not even aware. Topics will range from flower photography to prison surveillance; from facial recognition technology to Beyonce. With a knowledgeable crowd the discussion to follow should be lively.

Donald Weber caused a stir of debate over ethics with his project Interrogations that featured stills of people being questioned in a Ukrainian police station. Suspects are shown strung out, sobbing and, in one case, with a gun to the head. Weber carries a nuanced and conflicted view of power and image following his many years living in former Soviet States. Despite the dark content, Weber is a lively speaker and brings his unique humor and insight to difficult topics.

Young photographers Justin Maxon and Alex Welsh are joined by Dr. Fatima Hafiz-Walid, Temple University professor and President and Facilitator of Transformative Education Associates and Andre Mitchell, Founder and CEO of Man Up! Inc. Maxon series When The Spirit Moves documents violence plagued communities in Chester, PA while Welsh has been quietly working in Brownsville, NY. Welsh's work has not been shared widely in the public sphere so grab this opportunity to see and hear about his important project.

Above: Family members carry the casket of Kathy Ann Stewart, after a funeral service in her name. Stewart was murdered by a stray bullet while laying in bed talking to her fiance on the phone. Photo: Justin Maxon.

One of today's best thinkers on how technology, consumerism, media and global community are shaped through and by images, Fred Ritchin will be discussion his most recent book, Bending the Frame: Photojournalism, Documentary, and the Citizen. Loquacious and open, Ritchin wants us to think of what kinds of photographic projects succeed now. How can we use technologies for the maximum collective benefit? He poses the essential question, "Can there be a photography of peace, not just of war?"

In 2010, the Illinois-based activist group Tamms Year Ten began soliciting photo requests from prisoners in solitary confinement. Photographers and activists went into the world and made these descriptions of images tangible. The results are surprising, narrative-rich and in some cases plain odd. Journalist and Solitary Watch editor, Jean Casella and Laurie Jo Reynolds who heads the Tamms Year Ten coalition will discuss prisoners' imaginations, the role of community and the reality of psychological torture taking place in our own backyards. The aim? To educate the public and to spur social change on one of our most pressing domestic human rights issues.

Hydraulic fracturing -- or fracking as it commonly known -- is still largely an invisible extraction industry. Nina Berman, one of the photographers with the Marcellus Shale Documentary Project will discuss how she and other photographers have tried to keep pace with the rapid growth of fracking in the U.S. -- all the while delivering reliable and informative images.

Sara Naomí Lewkowicz's record of domestic violence is one of the stand-out projects of the year. It ushered in urgent debate about the photojournalist's role. Lewkowicz began photographing Shane and Maggie as a graduate student in September of 2012. Initially, Lewkowicz intended to photograph the difficulties Shane faced as a convicted felon trying to rebuild his life, but one night, the mounting tensions in Shane and Maggie's relationship exploded into violence. Lewkowicz's life transitioned quickly from student to photojournalist and advocate against domestic abuse. She will be in conversation with legendary documentary photographer Donna Ferrato who has spent her entire career bringing to light violence against women and the tragic, dark aspects of our society.

Above: As Shane and Maggie continued to fight, Memphis ran into the room and refused to leave Maggie's side. She witnessed the majority of the assault on her mother. As the two fought, Memphis began to scream and stomp her feet to try to draw their attention to her and off of each other. Photo Sara Naomi Lewkowicz.

A Raw File favorite, Michael Shaw of BagNewsNotes brings together a star-panel including visual entrepreneur and former VII Photo Agency director Stephen Mayes, photographer Spencer Platt, BagNews editor-at-large Meg Handler, and photo editor & curator Jamie Wellford. BagNewsNotes constantly keeps mainstream media's feet to the fire over matters of representation and interpretation raising important meta-issues of how we're all subject to images. Shaw and his team operate as unofficial watchdogs almost and have identified some questionable photojournalism ethics this past 12 months. Is this down to a rapid, freer schedule of publishing in the digital age? Check out this discussion of the blog IRL.

Above: Several hundred protesters on the 16th day of the Occupy Wall Street sit-in demonstration against corporate excess and the faltering economy. Zucotti Park, October 2, 2011. Image: Alan Chin/FACING CHANGE, for BagNewsNotes.

This summer, 36 young people from the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Brownsville and Red Hook participated in a participatory photography program that teaches a documentary style of photography focused on issues related to their neighborhoods and self-exploration. The students will be on stage to talk about ways that photography can be used to address social justice issues in the community. They'll be joined by photographer Russell Frederick, Brenna McLaughlin, Janay McNeil and Jessica Colon, Deputy Program Director at Red Hook Community Justice Center.

$20 to get into the MoMA? Already, people living paycheck to paycheck may be locked out of culture. Cameras focus on celebrity and the rich and famous constantly, but what role does photography have to describe the lives of those at the foot of the economic ladder? Lorie Novak will talk with artist Jerry Vessuzo about his photo and video work which represent the dynamics of a working class family in New York City.

Image from Vezzuso's unrelated project Model Release also on show at Photoville.